The UK Golf Federation is urging golfers to sign its Keep Golf Open petition so that two million people who play every week can do so despite the growing coronavirus threat.
Picture by ANDY HISEMAN / MAGIC HOUR MEDIA

GOLFERS are being urged to sign a petition to ensure the Government allows courses to stay open.

The UK Golf Federation has launched a petition urging the Government to ‘Keep Golf Open’ during the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak.

Some two million people play golf every week – and while many golf clubs’ weekday regulars are senior golfers who the Government are looking to increasingly self-isolate, there are many under 70.

The UK’s Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance was quizzed told a House of Commons Health Select Committee hearing on Tuesday, it was perfectly safe to play golf – providing certain precautions were taken – such as not taking the flag out when putting.

MP Dean Russell asked Sir Patrick: “If someone wants to play golf, can they still do that if they are not close together?”

The science expert, who has been one of a team advising Government ministers and the Prime Minister on how to contain the COVID-19 virus, said: “It is OK – if you keep a distance.

“We’re not asking everyone to be completely isolated. The specific advice is to avoid close contact.

“A walk is OK if you keep a distance.”

Golf UK Federation chief executive Doug Poole is worried if his members, who own nearly 600 proprietary clubs across the UK, are forced to close their courses as well as their clubhouses, many will face suffer serious financial losses, and in some cases, even bankruptcy.

The Golf UK Federation have organised a petition at www.change.org calling on the Government to ‘Keep Golf Open’

Mr Poole told Golf North after the launch of the Keep Golf Open petition: “We believe golf is one of the safest places in our current environment as it requires no person-to-person contact.

“You have the ability to change in the car park, there is no reason to take the flag out these days and likely you can always remain two metres apart from your playing partners.

“We hope this petition will be the catalyst in helping members, golfers, golf club employees, managers, and all those in our industry share our message to the government and the country to #KeepGolfOpen and emerge stronger.

“We cannot do this alone, which is why we need your help!

“A nationwide effort is required for all golfers to share this petition with everyone who loves this great game.

“We are at such a critical and pivotal time and we need your support and care more than ever.

“We want to update you with our plans and how we aim to not only survive but thrive in this situation, and also provide some value to ensure your safety.

Mr Poole added: “Please act urgently and share the petition by forwarding with your friends, family and fellow golfers so we can #KeepGolfOpen!”

•To sign the Keep Golf Open petition, click here

Golfers are told to keep at least six feet apart while playing and leave the flag in when putting. Picture by ANDY HISEMAN / MAGIC HOUR MEDIA

US expert backing Keep Golf Open

THE advice of Sir Patrick Vallance has also been backed up by a leading infectious disease epidemiologist in the USA.

Dr Catherine Troisi, from the University of Texas Health Science Centre, said: “Golf as it’s normally played – outdoors, with natural social-distancing built in – would be fairly safe.

‘I would say that in the actual playing of golf, you’re not at much risk.

“Sunlight and other environmental conditions can kill viruses like this, so it is probable that that is true for this novel coronavirus, as well.

“Also, relieving stress by playing golf outdoors helps your immune system.

“Physical activity boosts your immune system, so for both mental and physical health it’s good to get activity however you can get it without putting yourself at risk.”

How to play golf as safely as possible during coronavirus pandemic

GOLF South is publishing a list of tips drawn up by golf PR specialist Andy Hiseman – from a number of best practices currently spreading around clubs in the UK – on how to play the game without exposing yourself un-necessarily to the coronavirus.

PLAYER & ON-COURSE BEHAVIOUR
•Always stay two paces away from other players

•The club should remove all bunker rakes – players should smooth sand with their feet

•Players should putt with the flagstick in

•Only pick the ball out of the hole with a gloved hand

•Change shoes in car park and come ready to play – no changing clothes before or after your round

•On the first tee and 18th green give the thumbs-up – don’t shake hands, or even fist or elbow bump

•Bring your own refreshments – the bar/restaurant will be closed

•Do not use golf ball-washers

•No buggies allowed

•No push-trolley rentals allowed – either carry your bag, or use your own trolley

ADVICE FOR CLUBS & PRO SHOPS
•Close food and bar service completely

•Close the clubhouse apart from toilet facilities

•Prop open all internal doors en route to the toilets

•Remove all hand towels – replace with paper towels

•Provide alcohol hand-gels in all toilets

•PGA pros should give non-contact lessons ie stay two paces apart

•No group lessons or clinics

•Close indoor simulators and the driving range

If your club has come up with any interesting ways of ensure there is less risk from COVID-19 at your golf club, email andy@hiseman.com

The post Petition to Keep Golf Open launched by club owners to help in coronavirus fight appeared first on Golf North.

Staysure Tour competitor and SkyCaddie user Peter Wilson: Top Ten finisher in the MCB Tour Championship – Madagascar (photo: Andy Hiseman)

9 of the top 15 finishers in last weekend’s MCB Tour Championship – Madagascar event on The Staysure Tour used a SkyCaddie SX500 GPS rangefinder, including the event’s winner Barry Lane.

SkyCaddie’s ground-mapped GPS data was used by the event’s Tournament Directors to set the pins and to create pin sheets for competitors to use, in the absence of the normal Tour yardage charts.

All three MCB Tour Championship events will use SkyCaddie data in this way, after SkyCaddie’s chief mapper in the EMEA region, Steve Winstone, flew out to survey each of the golf courses in preparation for the three-event ‘swing’ which forms the climax to The Staysure Tour’s season.

Also enjoying Top Ten finishes in Madagascar with their SkyCaddie SX500 were Welshman Stephen Dodd and England’s Gary Evans (joint 4^th), South Africans James Kingston and Chris Williams (joint 7^th), and England’s Peter Wilson (also joint 7^th).

Other notable golfers in the field also using SkyCaddie SX500 for their yardages included the current number two on this year’s Order Of Merit, David Shacklady (Ormskirk GC), and 2018’s Rookie Of The Year Paul Streeter (Lincoln Golf Centre).

“We are proud that so many top-class touring pros now choose SkyCaddie for their yardages” said SkyCaddie’s James Holmes. “The new SX500 and SX400 give you so much detail of the hole ahead, they give you a clear advantage and yet are perfectly within the laws of the game.

SkyCaddie SX400

“We are also proud that The Staysure Tour is using our ground-mapped data to set the pins at the MCB Tour Championship events” he said. “This can only happen because we walk every golf course, mapping on foot as we go. No other rangefinder company can compete with this level of accuracy and detail.”

Lane, a first-time SkyCaddie SX500 user, took a one-shot victory in the MCB Tour Championship with a fine 69 on the final day at the International Golf Club du Rova. The win propels him to 3^rd place in the Order Of Merit, with just two tournaments to come – this week’s MCB Tour Championship Seychelles, at Constance Lemuria Golf Club, and next week’s third and final season-ending MCB Tour Championship event, at Constance Belle Mare Plage in Mauritius.

Shacklady and Lane are both chasing Welshman Philip Price, who sits atop the Order Of Merit after a consistent season with 10 Top Tens in his 15 events played.

For information about the new SkyCaddies, visit www.skycaddie.co.uk.

The post SkyCaddie Users Dominate MCB Tour Championship – Madagascar appeared first on Golf North.

The 18th on the Nicklaus, overlooked by the St Mellion International Resort hotel (photo: Andy Hiseman)

Cornwall’s 36-hole St Mellion International Resort is soaring after reporting a 20% rise in group golf in 2019, as an increasing number of golfers take their holidays on home soil during a time of Brexit uncertainty.

This year, groups who would normally book golfing trips in Spain or Portugal have instead been turning to St Mellion, a ‘bucket list’ destination for many golfers because of its famed Nicklaus Signature Course, as they look for value with the pound falling to a ten-year low against the Euro in summer 2019.

“With two European Tour courses and an award-winning hotel with all the facilities you could ever want, more golfers than ever before have simply been coming to St Mellion, parking the car, and enjoying a worry-free golf break for a few days” said David Moon, the resort’s Golf Manager.

“Like all of us, I’ve had countless conversations about Brexit this year and the message from our golfing guests has been coming through loud and clear. As the debate rages on about the EU, they know they’ll have a great time and get good value here at St Mellion, especially now their money doesn’t go as far over on the continent.

“And anyway, how could you ever get tired of playing The Nicklaus?” he said. “With Cornwall firmly established as the UK’s #1 holiday destination, location-wise we are sitting pretty of course, and the Brexit situation has certainly helped UK golf resorts this year. But you can’t rely solely on politics or the economy to help you out! We have been rewarded by a sharp rise in the number of golfers heading down here in 2019 after a lot of hard work by our amazing staff.”

Similar increases in roundage, food, accommodation and retail sales have made 2019 a banner year for St Mellion, a decade on from a £20m revamp in 2009 which saw its new 80-room four-star resort hotel open to universal acclaim.

With a second AA Rosette awarded to its An Boesti restaurant in 2019, and ongoing upgrades to its bedrooms, fleet of golf buggies and bunkers, the resort’s General Manager, Ian Davies, has overseen a successful period at St Mellion since he arrived in 2018.

“St Mellion’s reputation has been earnt over many years, with The Nicklaus celebrating its 30^th Anniversary last summer and our hotel celebrating its 10^th Anniversary this year” he said, “but it is incredibly rewarding to see our popularity continue to soar.

“We really look after our guests, whether or not they are golfers, and we have all loved to see a growing number of familiar faces returning to St Mellion in 2019 – which is the ultimate endorsement, of course.”

Ranked in GB & Ireland’s top 15 golf resorts, St Mellion International Resort is rated as the #2 four-star golf resort in the UK, and continues to grow its reputation as one of Europe’s surest bets for a memorable golf holiday.

See www.st-mellion.co.uk for all information, and to book your next visit.

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